TOWN OF DUCK
TOWN COUNCIL
REGULAR MID-MONTH MEETING
The Town Council for the Town of Duck convened at the Duck Municipal Offices at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18, 2004.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Gene Schwarz; Mayor Pro Tempore Allan Beres; Councilor Nancy Caviness; Councilor Monica Thibodeau; and Councilor Neil Morrison.
OTHERS PRESENT: Town Manager and Town Clerk Christopher Layton; Town Attorney Donald I. McRee, Jr.; Planning Director Suzanne Cotellessa; Police Chief Dale Hamilton; Fire Chief John Brock; Deputy Fire Chief Donna Black and Deputy Town Clerk Lori Kopec.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Schwarz at 1:00 p.m.
Town Manager Layton was recognized to speak. He stated he submitted a preliminary grant and because the deadline for the final grant is August 20, 2004, he needed permission to submit the final grant application. He stated that there is consensus on a pier and some parking on the municipal property. He asked for approval of the resolution, which is required for the submittal of the grant. He stated that if the Town does get the grant and it turns out to be unneeded the money can be refused. He stated the amount of funds needed for the actual construction is $75,850 with a match of $25,283 from the Town.
Councilor Morrison asked if the grant locks the Town into a particular project. Town Manager Layton stated it is a best guess, but it is without the final design being completed. He stated there would not be a problem with the Town changing the plan as long as it still meets the goals that are stated in the application.
Councilor Morrison asked what type of surface would be used for the parking area. Town Manager Layton stated the goal is to have a pervious surface.
Mayor Pro Tempore Beres moved to adopt Resolution 04-15, in support of CAMA public beach and coastal water access grant application.
Motion adopted 5-0.
REVIEW OF UPCOMING PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
Review of Proposed Revisions to Article I of the Zoning Ordinance
Planning Director Cotellessa was recognized to speak. She stated that Article I covers the definitions that are in the Zoning Ordinance and clarifies them. She went on to review Article I with Council and the audience.
Councilor Thibodeau asked what the concern of the building community is with regard to pervious versus impervious surfaces and lot coverage. Planning Director Cotellessa stated the concern is that people want to maximize their potential on their lots and the less that is counted toward lot coverage; the easier it is to build what they want. She stated that the Town of Duck is much more generous with lot coverage than other jurisdictions.
Mayor Pro Tempore Beres asked how lot sizes are determined on an oceanfront lot. Planning Director Cotellessa stated the lot size is determined by the mean high water mark or from the first line of stable natural vegetation. Mayor Pro Tempore Beres asked if the mean high water mark is to the bottom of a dune. Planning Director Cotellessa stated it depends on the day you measure it.
Councilor Morrison pointed out that Page 2, Bedroom Equivalents, was incorrect in that parking requirements are now based on septic capacity. Planning Director Cotellessa thanked Councilor Morrison for catching the error and stated it will be corrected.
Councilor Thibodeau asked if there a difference with respect to minimum building height. Planning Director Cotellessa stated there wasn’t.
Planning Director Cotellessa reviewed impervious and pervious surfaces for parking with Council and the audience.
Review of Proposed Revisions to Article II of the Zoning Ordinance
Planning Director Cotellessa was recognized to speak. She stated Article II clarifies the uses of the various districts. She went on to review Article II with Council and the audience.
Councilor Thibodeau asked if a homeowner’s lighting on their home is considered pole mounted lighting. Planning Director Cotellessa stated it would be considered building mounted lighting.
Councilor Morrison suggested that the square footage for buildings in the S-1 district be changed to 5,000 square feet for consistency. Planning Director Cotellessa stated she would make the change.
Review of Proposed Revisions to Article III of the Zoning Ordinance
Planning Director Cotellessa was recognized to speak. She stated Article III has changes to variances, special exception requests for small child care homes and minimum lot size for group housing projects. She went on to review Article III with Council and the audience.
Councilor Thibodeau asked if the group development section of the zoning ordinance addresses town homes. Planning Director Cotellessa stated that most of the commercial lots are group developments. The only group development with a conditional use permit is Bob Evans’ site.
Mayor Schwarz stated the public hearing on each of these revisions will be at the September 1, 2004 Council meeting.
DISCUSSION OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN
Mayor Schwarz stated he had asked Donna Black to review the disaster management plan. He stated she had made some changes and simplified some items.
Deputy Fire Chief Donna Black was recognized to speak. Deputy Fire Chief Black stated that due to Hurricane Charley, she had made additional changes to the plan. She stated the Town had a public safety event over the weekend due to the hurricane and suggested that the plan be changed to read “Town of Duck Public Safety Emergency Disaster Plan” because the whole plan may not be used at any given time but parts of it could be used. She suggested adding another goal to state “preserve public safety.”
Deputy Fire Chief Black stated that 4 of the 7 critical assumptions were met over the weekend. She stated that the emergency operations center would stay at Kellogg’s.
Deputy Fire Chief Black went on to review the organizational chart with Council and the audience.
Town Manager Layton stated the intent of the Town is to revise the organizational chart in June of each year.
Mayor Schwarz stated he would like to see 4 people designated for Operations and Damage Assessment. He stated by having 4 people designated and trained, it will be easier because there will be back up.
Councilor Caviness stated that while having more than one person designated for a certain task could work, it would be hard to switch from one person to another during the height of a storm event. She stated that because there is so much going on, time cannot be spent to bring another person up to speed during the switchover.
Mayor Schwarz suggested that persons outside of the fire department be designated to help out so as not to deplete the fire department resources.
Councilor Thibodeau asked if the Incident Command Leader would be the one to designate individuals for each position. Mayor Schwarz stated it would be a combination of the Incident Command Leader and the Mayor.
Councilor Caviness asked how the fire chief felt about having more than one person for the Operations position. Fire Chief Brock stated that more than one person would probably need to be designated for certain tasks.
Mayor Schwarz emphasized the importance of having more than one person to call on during a storm event. Fire Chief Brock suggested that for a shift change, have the new person come in an hour before to observe and be ready for when their shift starts.
Deputy Fire Chief Black reviewed the disaster plan with Council and the audience.
Mayor Schwarz asked Fire Chief Brock and Police Chief Hamilton for their comments on the past weekend’s storm event.
Fire Chief Brock stated it started as traffic control, but then it grew. He stated that traffic control should have been started sooner. He stated that Saturday went a lot smoother than Friday did.
Police Chief Hamilton stated the event was organized chaos but felt it went extremely well. He suggested a joint debriefing with the police and fire department for the future. He stated that overall he was pleased but concerned. He praised the volunteers for their hard work.
Mayor Schwarz felt the Town did very well with the storm event. He stated that although traffic was delayed, there was never any question about closing NC 12. He stated the Town is very fortunate to have people that are willing to come to help when it’s needed. He stated that he recognizes the importance of communication. He felt that having the 800 radios is a tremendous asset to anyone that is out on site. He stated that those who helped really outdid themselves.
Deputy Fire Chief Black agreed with Mayor Schwarz. She stated she was glad to see people come out and help.
Mayor Schwarz stated that citizens from Southern Shores were giving him compliments about the volunteers in Duck.
Councilor Caviness asked how much of a challenge it is for someone who is in command, is doing a lot of the work, but not able to just oversee things. Fire Chief Brock stated the key is communication. He stated it a person can do it all but they won’t be as effective.
Town Manager Layton stated that communication is important. He stated that he had a handle on where all the resources were, but with 800 radios it would have been easier. He felt there was a good level of communication between Police Chief Hamilton, Fire Chief Brock and himself, however, he felt there was a communication breakdown in that they were not able to always get in touch with Councilor Caviness. He stated that will have to be worked on.
Councilor Thibodeau asked if Mayor Schwarz had removed himself from helping out, would it have been a better coordinated effort. Mayor Schwarz stated he tried to see what was going on in two different areas and when traffic needed to be directed, he decided to help out by relieving the person that had been out there for a few hours.
Councilor Thibodeau asked what could have been done to make things go more smoothly. Mayor Schwarz stated that he felt that the Department of Transportation could have come out sooner.
Mayor Pro Tempore Beres asked what the protocol is for stating that the Town has a disaster or something approaching a disaster. He asked if there are any legal implications on the Town announcing an incident or quasi-disaster. Town Attorney McRee stated the ordinance sets the standard where the mayor can declare a state of emergency and what actions can be taken. Town Manager Layton stated the Town did send out a press release on Friday. Mayor Schwarz stated that Dare County had sent out about 6 bulletins that included the flooding on Duck Road.
Councilor Caviness stated she was concerned about the “schizophrenic” message of evacuation that Dare County sends out. She stated they ask people to leave but do not make them leave, or they want the tourists to come but then tell them not to come. She stated that instead of having a consistent impact, it’s a response that creates fear, panic and confusion among people. She stated that she does not think the way Dare County handles evacuations is one that works.
Mayor Schwarz stated there wasn’t a voluntary evacuation over the weekend. He stated that people were advised to leave early on Saturday and to hold off coming to the Outer Banks until Sunday due to the storm, which the Control Group had agreed upon. He stated that every message that Dare County sent out emphasized that there would be flooding on the roads and traffic delays. He stated the Control Group made it very clear that it wasn’t an evacuation.
Councilor Caviness stated she didn’t understand the difference between a voluntary evacuation and suggesting that tourists not come to Outer Banks. Mayor Schwarz stated the Control Group never said not to come but to delay their trip for one day.
Deputy Fire Chief Black asked if the Town called a state of emergency, would the days that tourists could come and go to Duck be restricted. Mayor Schwarz stated that if a state of emergency is called, travel can be restricted.
Deputy Fire Chief Black stated that it is important that Administrative Assistant Shanon Doughtie, Deputy Town Clerk Kopec and Administrative Assistant Sandy Cady be kept in the loop with an 800 radio so they know what is going on.
Ron Forlano was recognized to speak. Mr. Forlano felt a core of volunteers is necessary for the Town during storm events. He stated there should be enough able-bodied year round residents that could volunteer to help out. Deputy Fire Chief Black stated that, while having extra volunteers would be a good thing; they would still need to be trained in the various areas. Mr. Forlano agreed.
Chief Hamilton suggested more training be done for the fire and police departments for Incident Command.
Jon Britt was recognized to speak. Mr. Britt stated that having the Town Manager serve as the public information officer is too much to ask of any individual. He suggested developing a Public Information Officer.
Mayor Schwarz stated there needs to be better coordination between the Town and Currituck County. He stated that everyone has learned a lot from the experience and that the Town will be better next time.
Councilor Thibodeau stated that she had heard that there were too many people helping on the road and that was what was causing the traffic jam.
Police Chief Hamilton stated there were more positive comments than negative. Mayor Schwarz stated he had received numerous compliments from people traveling on NC 12.
Mayor Schwarz asked for other items.
Town Manager Layton stated that he and Carl Classen of the Town of Southern Shores would be meeting with Gretchen Byrum of the North Carolina Department of Transportation on August 19, 2004 to talk about the water issues. He stated that Marc Basnight is trying to set up a meeting as well.
Fire Chief John Brock stated he would like to thank Ada Scarborough for allowing the Town to pump water onto one of her properties. Mayor Schwarz stated that a thank you letter would be sent out to her.
Mayor Schwarz asked for any other comments. There being none, he asked for a motion to adjourn.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Schwarz moved to adjourn the meeting.
Motion carried 5-0. The time was 2:50 p.m.
__________________________
/s/ Town Clerk
Approved: ______________________
_______________________________
/s/ Gene Schwarz, Mayor